Means for operating the steps of passenger-cars.



s. M OURWBN. MEANS FOR OPERATING THE STEPS 0P PASSENGER CARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l, 1909.

Patented Oct. 18, 1910.

s 50., WASH-INGTDN, u. c.

SAMUEL M. CURWEN, OF HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE J'. G.

BRILL COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN-SYLVANIA.

MEANS FOR OPERATING THE STEPS 0F PASSENGER-CARS.

Application filed February 1, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL M. CURWEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Havel-ford, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvementsin Means for Operating the Steps of Passenger-Cars, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the means for operatingthe step on the movement of a door of a passenger car.

One object of my invention is to move the step into and out of positionon the movement of the car door.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the step in respectto the sliding door at the side of the platform of a car that when thedoor is full open the step is entirely independent of the door.

My invention also relates to details of construction fully describedhereafter.

In the accompanying drawings :--Figure 1, is a side view of sufficientof a platform of a passenger car to illustrate my invention, showing thedoor open and the step down in position; Fig. 2, is a sectional planview on the line 29., Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a transverse sectional viewshowing the step in position as in Fig. 1; Fig. 4, is a similar viewshowing the step out of position; Fig. 5, is a perspective view of theengaging member carried by the door; Fig. 6, is a view of a modificationof the engaging member; and Fig. 7 is a detached view of the tappet.

"While my invention can be applied to any passenger car it relatesparticularly to the door and step at the forward end of a passenger carof the type in which the passengers pay their fares on entering the car.In this type of car there is an exit doorway at the front platformclosed by a sliding door, and in order to prevent persons standing onthe step at this doorway when the door is closed, I pivot the step andso arrange the parts that when the door is closed the step will beturned upon its pivot out of position and when the door is open, thestep will be lowered into position. During a portion of the movement ofa car door the step is not connected with the door so that the step israised only during the last portion of the closing movement of the doorand is lowered into position immediately on open- Specifieation ofLetters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1910.

Serial No. 475,401.

ing the door so that a passenger cannot alight from the car unless thestep is first in position.

A is the frame of a platform of a car.

B is a sliding door adapted to a channel in the partition A and arrangedto close the doorway a. The door is connected to operating means withineasy reach of the motorman, as it is the duty of the motorman to operatethis door when passengers wish to alight from the car at the forwardend.

D is the step pivoted in the present instance at cl to a bracket D hungfrom the frame A of the car directly under the doorway a. Secured to oneedge of the step is a plate 03' having an extension (Z projectingrearwardly of the pivot (Z. This extension is connected by a link a toan arm 6 on a rock shaft E pivoted to the bracket E attached to theframe A of the car. In order to allow the link 6 and arm 6 toaccommodate themselves to the irregular movement I mount a swiveled head6 on the end of the arm, and make a swiveled head 6 on the link 6 asshown. On the shaft E is an arm 0 forked at its outer end in the presentinstance and provided with a roller 6 This arm projects in the path ofthe engaging member I secured to the rear lower corner of the door B.This engaging member has two arms 71 and 2" forming a pocket for thereception of the roller 6 As the door is moved to its closed posit-ionit travels some distance before the arm 71 strikes the roller 0 The dooris preferably closed to such an extent that a passenger cannot passthrough the doorway when the arm 2' reaches the roller 0 thus preventingany accident during the movement of the step into and out of position.As the movement of the door is continued the arm 71 will be movedforward turning the rock shaft E and as this rock shaft is connected tothe step by the link 6 and the arms 6' and cl, it will turn the step onits pivot from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown inFig. 4:, the roller in the meantime entering the pocket between the twoarms 2' and d. On the opening of the door the arm 71 pushes against theroller 0 turning the rock shaft E in the opposite direction andimmediately moving the step from the position shown in Fig. 4; to thatshown in Fig. 3, before the door is open sufficiently to allow apassenger to leave the car. The arms 2', 2" may be the fixed parts ofthe engaging member as shown in Fig. 6, but I prefer to make themyielding, as shown in Fig. 5 so that when the door is opened or closedshocks due to the opening and closing of the door will be considerablyreduced. The arm 2' is pivoted at i to the frame I and between anextension of this arm and the frame is a spring 2' so that when the armstrikes the roller 6 the spring will yield to a certain extentcushioning thebolt. In order to cushion the roller when the engagingmember first strikes it, I provide a yielding inclined tappet n pivotedat n and having a stop n to limit its downward movement. A spring a ismounted between the tappet n and the frame I so that as the tappetstrikes the roller it will yield. The end of this tappet is in a linewith the arm 2" of the engaging member and thus forms an extension ofsaid arm to allow the arm 6 to move to turn the rock shaft E a greaterdistance than if it were simply a rigid part of the fixture, as shown inFig. 6. Thus it will be seen that when the step is lowered into positionand the door open the step and door are entirely independent so that anymovement of the door, unless it is closed to such a position that it isimpossible for any one to alight from the car will not affect theposition of the step. This is important, especially in street passengercars where accidents often happen due to the fact that personsfrequently alight from the car before it comes to a full stop, and wherea door is connected at all times with the step any movement of the door,no matter how slight, will affect the position of the step.

By the arrangement above described when the door is closed the step willbe positively raised and held in the raised position by the door as thearm 6 is held by the arms 11 on the door and when the door is opened thestep is lowered. The step can be raised independently of the door if ithappens to be projecting beyond the line of the car and if for anyreason it is desired to raise the step to clear any obstruction.

The device is readily applied and in the event of any repairs, these canbe quickly made. The parts are simple and do not easily get out oforder.

The device can be applied to either or both sides of any car platformand it may be used with a gate in place of the sliding door shownwithout departing from the essential features of the invention.

In the event of the step being raised with out operating the door, thedoor can be closed when the tappet n is used, as the tappet will yieldwhen it strikes the roller 6 and ride over it, and when the door isagain opened it will operate the step.

I claim:

1. The combination of a movable step in front of a doorway, a slidingdoor for closing said doorway, lever mechanism entirely independent ofthe door and connected to the step for shifting the step into and out ofposition, with means fixed to the door for engaging the lever mechanismso as to move the step out of position as the door is closed.

2. The combination in a car having a doorway at the side of theplatform, a pivoted step mounted at the doorway, a sliding door forclosing said doorway, lever mechanism connected to the step, anoperating device secured to the rear of the sliding door and so arrangedas to come in contact with the lever mechanism as the door is closed toturn the step out of position and to actuate the lever mechanism tothrow the step into position as the door is opened.

3. The combination of a car having a doorway at the side of theplatform, a step pivotally mounted below the doorway, a rock shaftmounted in bearings on the car, said rock shaft having two arms, a leverconnecting one of said arms with a projection at the rear of the step, asliding door, an operating device, the other arm of the rock shaftextending into the path of the operating device so" that as the door isopened or closed the step will be moved into and out of position.

4. The combination of a pivoted step mounted below a doorway, a slidingdoor adapted to close said doorway, a rock shaft connected to the stepand having an arm, an operating device on the door adapted to move saidarm, said actuating device having two arms forming a pocket between theminto which the arm of the rock shaft extends when the door is in theposition to actuate the step.

5. The combination of a movable step mounted under a doorway, a slidingdoor adapted to close said doorway and having an operating deviceattached thereto, a rock shaft connected to the step and having an armprojecting in the path of the operating device on the door, saidoperating device having two arms, one of said arms being yieldinglyconnected to the arm of the operating device.

6. The combination in a step mounted below a doorway, a sliding dooradapted to close said doorway, an operating device secured to the door,a rock shaft having two arms, one arm being connected to the step andthe other arm projecting into the path of the operating device, saidoperating device consisting of two arms forming a pocket between theminto which the arm of the rock shaft extends, the longer arm of the twobeing pivotally connected to the frame of the operating device, and aspring mount ed between an extension of the arm and the frame, aninclined tappet yieldingly mounted on the frame, said tappet firststriking the arm of the rock shaft as the door is closed, the other armbeing arranged to positively move the step out of position.

7. The combination in a passenger car, having a doorway at one side ofthe platform, of a step pivotally mounted under the doorway, a slidingdoor adapted to close said doorway and having an operating deviceattached to its lower rear corner, a rock shaft adapted to hearings onthe frame of the car, said rock shaft having two arms, a plate on thestep having a rearward ex tension, a link connecting said extension withone of said arms of the rock shaft, the other arm of the rock shafthaving a roller at its outer end arranged in the path of the operatingdevice on the door, said operating device having two arms, one fixed andthe other yieldingly mounted, said yiel lingly mounted arm extendingbelow the fixed arm and adapted to engage the roller as the door isbeing closed, the other arm engaging the roller as the door is beingopened, and a yielding, inclined tappet carried by the operating devicein front of the fixed arm.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL M. CURVEN.

\Vitnesses JOHN H. OHLSSON, HENRY G. ESLING.

